In order to foster a mentorship for the young men in junior high, science teacher Terry Richards created and maintained the Brother to Brother club. Richards founded the Brother to Brother program because he noticed a lack of junior high counseling.
“For a long time we had a sister to sister program, but we had absolutely nothing for the guys,” Richards said. “So I finally thought nothing was going to happen unless I made it happen.”
The club aims to teach the younger generation of men by pairing them with an older companion that will impart their wisdom onto them. Richards believes that this camaraderie is essential to young men.
“There are two purposes for Brother to Brother,” Richards said. “One is to get the junior high guys acclimated to their new environment. The other is to give them an older guy, who knows what they’ve been through, to give them advice and mentor them.”
Though the program is designed to mentor, the members also enjoy becoming invested in one another’s lives. Bailey Brogan,’16, fondly remembers mentoring a younger guy, and looks forward to mentoring again this year.
“Brother to Brother was a lot fun last year for me,” Brogan said. “Getting to know my little brother was a great experience. Getting to hang out with everyone, junior high and high school was a really great memory. I look forward to what will happen this year.”
Brother to Brother was a lot fun last year for me. Getting to know my little brother was a great experience. Getting to hang out with everyone, junior high and high school was a really great memory. I look forward to what will happen this year. –Bailey Brogan
Matthew Oliver, freshman, was a younger brother in the program last year and encourages others to join it as well.
“It’s a really great thing having someone you can look up to, someone who has been through everything you’ve been through and help you through it,” Oliver said. “I can’t even choose what my favorite memory is, all of them were unique and I would not choose one day over another.”
Brother to Brother will have it’s first official meeting of the year on Aug. 26 in Richard’s room at lunch.
This writer can be reached via Twitter: @RRoggenstein. Follow The Feather via Twitter: @thefeather.
